“Will do something special this time” Niluka Karunaratne

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Having represented Sri Lanka in the 2012 Summer Olympics that was held in London, Niluka Karunaratne once again is en-route to the 2016 edition which is set to take place in Rio De Janeiro in August. 

Taking Sri Lanka’s chances in badminton forward, champion shuttler and national title holder Niluka Karunaratne stole the spotlight in the 2012 Olympics when he defeated eighth seed and the Asian champion in the first round to advance forward. What Niluka achieved in 2012 will be remembered as the greatest feat in the history of the sport for the country and moving forward, the 31 year old looks at giving his best shot at the upcoming hurdle.

Niluka Karunaratne

Currently ranked 94th in the world, Niluka became the youngest to win a national badminton championship at the age of 16 in 2001 and was the national title holder continuously for a duration of 11 years until 2012. He is also the only person to have won every national title on offer in each age group ranging from the under 11 stage up to the under 19 level in all three formats of the game including Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

In addition to the Olympics, Niluka has represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games and climbed the ranking ladder to reach a career best ranking of 34 in the world.

Niluka will be entering the Olympics via a wild-card entry but he looks confident of moving forward in the draw to get Sri Lanka in contention for a medal. Speaking to ThePapare.com he added that despite the defying claims against him, he has always had his mind set straight and has worked on improving his game.

We caught up with Niluka in our RoadtoRio feature to see what it takes to take Sri Lanka’s pride ahead in the sport of Badminton.